Cooking at home for fun, health and frugality!

This week I wanted to mentioned just two things I have enjoyed lately and one upcoming event I’m looking forward to.

We went on a short road trip this week and stopped to buy drinks. Standing in front of the wall of drinks was somewhat overwhelming and I just grabbed something fast that didn’t have calories. I got Inko’s organic unsweetened white tea honeysuckle flavor. The flavor was very lightly floral and pleasantly refreshing. I don’t know if I would like their other drinks but I would definitely drink the honeysuckle tea again. They don’t sell it in my local store at this time unfortunately. https://www.inkostea.com/

The weather is warming and it is almost time for outdoor flea markets! Hagbard, Amethesto and I love browsing through flea markets. There is a large market that we have been going to for several years located in Sparks, KS. The town is interesting in that it has a normal population of just 9 people. For 4 days each in the Spring and Fall there are over 500 vendors plus food stalls filling the town and thousands of people. Cars fill the parking area and line the sides of the highway every time. Hagbard has joked that I am walking more these days just to get in training for flea markets! Seriously, if you go expect to do a lot of walking out in the weather on unpaved areas. Dress in appropriate footwear for a hike, wear sunscreen, drink plenty of water and bring a bag, cart or wagon for your purchases. We always have to walk pretty far from where we park so our habit is to walk through to the end noting down anything larger we want to purchase and go back and buy it on our way out. This year I hope to find some interesting dishes or kitchen implements. I think Amethesto wants to look for vintage clothes and old video games. We almost always buy some books. The Spring dates are April 28, 29, 30 and May 1. http://sparksantiquesandcollectibles.com/

Finally, I was reading a manga called Cooking Papa this week. The story is about a 31 year old sales manager named Kaizumi Araiwa who loves to cook and cooks very well but hides this from most people. His wife is a journalist and they have a 7 year old son. Each chapter has a recipe included. Araiwa is large and muscly in appearance. He does not say much and seems reliable but stern to his co-workers but is actually very caring about others and secretly helps people out all the time. He lets people believe that his wife makes his amazing lunch or that foods he shares are from a store. I don’t know why he hides what he does but maybe he would get taken advantage of or be seen less seriously in the business world if he revealed that side of himself… like “Hey, Araiwa since you are so good at cooking just make an elaborate lunch for 50 people for the company event.” What he loves could easily turn into a burden. Since his wife is often rushing away on assignment, working late or drinking with colleagues he does a lot of the care for their son beyond just cooking. His persona at home is more fun and chatty. It is a fun cooking manga to check out. http://bato.to/comic/_/comics/cooking-papa-r7712

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When I was growing up my family subscribed to two newspapers. On Sunday morning they arrived on the porch with a thud… heavy with store ads and special supplement sections. One of those special sections was the color comics or as we called them the funny papers. It was the first and sometimes only part of the newspaper I read.
There were old regular comic strips like Peanuts, Beetle Bailey, or Dick Tracey and newer ones like Baby Blues or Calvin and Hobbes. Reading the comics section was a fun Sunday ritual.
I have always loved comics and animated cartoons. Hagbard turned me on to Japanese manga and anime after we married. Loved it! When Amethesto was a baby we would watch Slayers. I was impressed with the strong female sorceress character. As she got older we watched the Studio Ghibli films as a family like My Neighbor Totorro. I was a weepy mess the first time I saw that. Later I would watch Ranma 1/2, Sgt Frog, Fruits Basket, Azumanga Daioh, Cowboy Bebop, Ghost in the Shell…lots of great stuff. Today there are sites like Crunchyroll where you can watch free anime and Batoto where you can read manga of all kinds. There are even manga about food!
This week I watched Space Dandy and Lupin the Third: Castle of Cagliostro on dvd. They are both kind of over the top with characters who are somewhat unheroic heroes although Lupin is probably more of hero than Space Dandy.
Here is a great car chase from Lupin the Third to wrap this up. I just love that little car! https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=oxbum3is6G0
Have a fun day!